50 Book Challenge 2014

[juneybean]

Hopefully nobody minds me starting this thread.

The idea is to read 50 books in 2014 (or more as many people have achieved this year!)

Please also check out our group on Goodreads if you're stuck for ideas of what books to read!

www.goodreads.com/group/show/59438-the-book-vipers

1. Life after life. Kate Atkinson.

I don't think I totally 'got it', but it did make me admire my Grandma's bravery in living through the blitz in London from early pregnancy, and then with a tiny baby, toddler etc. Reminded me how lucky we are to be living in the times we are.

Now enjoying some light relief with Mad About the Boy.

Erm, his are people in double figures already

How are

Just finished number 8 Tinker tailor soldier spy by John le Carre. Disappointed as really enjoyed The spy who came in from the cold, but didn't click with this one.

What to read next?

1. Lean in - Sheryl Sandberg

Found some of the gender stats very interesting.

1. Same as you ballstoit, Life after Life - got a bit confused by all the back and forth through time, and is more difficult to flick back through on a kindle. Brought it home just how horrific living through the Blitz was - off to read a few other reviews...

Finished no 6. Dominion by CJ Sansom, an account of England if a peace treaty had been signed in 1940. I enjoyed it and it certainly painted a realistic picture of an alternative war outcome.

Now on no 7, Edward Marston, The Iron Man, a nice easy Victorian detective story.

1. Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy - Helen Fielding
2. Solo - William Boyd
3. Shadows of the Workhouse - Jennifer Worth
4. I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai
5. The Fault In Our Stars- John Greene
6. Dear Fatty - Dawn French
7. The White Princess - Phillipa Gregory

Wow - this thread is rapidly approaching the 1000 post limit!

My fifth book review has gone up on my blog

- review of Bellwether, by US science-fiction writer Connie Willis.

I'm not sure I liked it as much as some of her other books, especially her novels with a time-travelling historical setting, but still a enjoyable and thought-provoking read, especially for anyone working in a research lab!

1. Longbourne, by Jo Baker
2. Devil's Acre, by Matthew Plampin
3. Perfect People, by Peter James (subpar Midwich Cuckoos nonsense)
4. night Road, by Kristen Hannah (meh)
5. Sister Land, by Curtis Sittenfeld (okay, not worth a reread)
6. The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, by Kate Summerscale (MUCH more like it. interesting read, and I enjoyed the link between real life cases and burgeoning crime fiction)

Currently reading and enjoying The Anatomy of Ghosts, by Andrew Taylor. Not really what I was expecting. Reminds me a little of the CJ Sanson books.

1. Conquistadors of the Useless - Lionel Terray

An absolutely cracking mountaineering book, by the legendary Frenchman who was part of Maurice Herzog's team on the Annapurna expedition. I'd go so far as to say my favourite climbing book so far, and I've read a few by now! Remus highly recommended if you haven't read already.

Book 9: Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason. - Re-read this as have the new BJ on order at the library and wanted the original fresh in my memory. Really enjoyed it. Hasn't lost its appeal all these years later. Hope MATB doesn't disappoint.

Have now started Sisterland. (Free copy thanks to Mumsnet Book Club.) Enjoying it so far.

Book 5 Rosie Hopkins sweet shop of dreams by Jenny Colgan. Not my usual type of book at all but I really enjoyed it, it was a nice light fluffy read

1. The Anatomy of Ghosts, by Andrew Taylor.

The ending felt a bit sudden and rushed, but enjoyed it overall. There could have been a bit more mystery to Tabitha's death though (not the main murder). If he'd held back about how she died...

#6 Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

#7 The Resistance: The French Fight Against The Nazis (non-fic)

#8 the Secret History

#9 Paid For, by Rachel Moran (non-fic)

#10 The Shock Of The Fall- depressed me, couldn't finish

#11 Take Me Home, by Daniela Sacerdote. Just garbage. Couldn't finish either.

#12 One Summer: America 1927. Let's see if Bryson can fix my restiveness! Will try another new Rebus after that.

1. The hare with amber eyes
2. 1984 (audiobook)

Now reading:

1. Life After Life

10. The Chaperone (audiobook).

1. The never list. Dark, dark, dark. Had to stay in a premier inn on my own last night (there is nothing about premier inns, or hotels for that matter in the book!!) and I was scared on my own, which never happens (not helped by knockings on doors late at night and shouting, but that's another thread, anyway I digress....). Material was pretty disturbing. I thought it was a good story with a great twist at the end and very easy to read. An 8.

Now reading light between the oceans.

Book 17 The Real Jane Austen - loved it.

1- WIntersmith - Pratchett
2- Hat full of sky - Pratchett
3- Team Uganda cycling team book
4- Power of three - Diana Wynne Jones
5- India Dark -
6- 11 The Henderson Boys series- Robert Muchamore
12 How to speak Drangonese - Cressida Cowell
13 - The Unforgotten coat - Cotterel Boyce
14 Knightly & Son - Gavin Rohan
15 Russian Roulette - Antony Horowitz

Are we including Audio books too? cos I'm on book 3 of those too
1- The Railway children
2 Eagle of the Ninth
3- Just William

Favourites so far this year have been the Henderson boys series. I enjoyed the first one so much I borrowed all the others from the library and have had a reading fest last week while boy was at school and the rain lashed down outside.

I do read a lot of childrens/ teen books. I like short novels.

12. immune - Shannon Mayer

Another urban fantasy, the second in the Rules Adamson series. Quick and easy to read, just what I need to unwind at bedtime.

13. Scotland fail - Anna Tripp

This one is a collection of funny answers and stories from school pupil. Imagine my surprise when halfway through I found an anecdote from MY classroom. Either someone else has had the exact same weird conversation in their classroom, or the author has found these stories from the Internet, and come across mine on a forum. Either way, I was a bit wielded out by reading it in a book.

That's supposed to be school fail, not Scotland fail

#4 Twelve Years a Slave

Really good and not as difficult a read as I was expecting regarding either style or content - there were a couple of distressing bits that make me less inclined to see the film as I think watching them rather than reading them would be too much.

Starting The Rosie Project tonight and hoping to rattle through it as it's on one week loan and needs to be back at the library on Saturday!

1. Bad Science - interesting and good but too ranty and sarcastic in style for my liking
2. Blowing up Russia by Litvinenko and some other guy - really good, really scary. It might be why Litvinenko was poisoned, as basically it says Putin and his ex-KGB buddies deliberately created fake "terrorist" attacks to engineer Putin into power, and to start a war with Chechnya
3. Unnatural Selection - how and why there are 160 million females missing, and what the impact is of gender imbalance in a population. An AMAZING book, very well researched and written, but very depressing. One of the reasons is the US government involvement in family planning in Asia (e.g. through planned parenthood and what not) which kind of involved them going "well, let's just go for abortion as a birth control method" without thinking through the ramifications (they didn't mind that people would abort baby girls, as long as Asia's population stopped growing so quickly). Very depressing things like forced abortions in China (at up to 8 months pregnant) and the fact that in Japan, the pill was illegal as a birth control method until 1999. The mind boggles
4. Revolutionary Road - I really liked it. I loved the movie, but I think I enjoyed the book more as obviously it's able to give more background and substance to the characters. I like Leo's character less now than in the movie.

I'm ploughing my way through MacMafia (another depressing book about global organised crime networks, including people trafficking and stuff). I have Escape from Camp 14 (about someone escaping from a Labour Camp in North Korea) and Twelve Years a slave lined up. I think I might need something lighter, like Garfield or something, in between as it's been a rather heavy reading list.

1. The secret History, thought it was ok but fail to see why people rave about it.

Are we allowed to count books we can't finish?